A to Y Management, a limited liability partnership of Amarillo doctors and business professionals, has purchased 59 acres north of Southwest Ninth Avenue to develop Westlake, a continuing care retirement community for an estimated 500 residents.

"We're targeting the early stages of boomers in their mid-60s, early 70s," said A to Y President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Yates. "Everything about this is about lifestyle, not having to take care of anything around your house - the linens, the laundry, the maintenance, the housekeeping. People would rather enjoy life than worry about the day-to-day maintenance of life."

Representatives of the partnership have had preliminary conversations with officials at the city of Amarillo concerning extending Coulter Street northward, beyond Southwest Ninth Avenue, as well as getting water and wastewater utility service to the site, said city Planning Director Kelley Shaw.

The company could start dirt work for the community in late 2008, with a timetable for completion dependent upon the "sales velocity," Yates said.

A to Y will open a Westlake pre-sales office at 2023 S. Coulter St. in about 45 days, he said. The office will contain a model of a two-bedroom apartment for visitors to see.

The partnership has retained Life Care Services, a Des Moines, Iowa, company that runs 180 senior resident communities, to manage Westlake, Yates said.

Rather than actually purchasing a home or apartment, residents will pay a lump sum "entrance fee" that places them in the housing of their choice and a monthly fee for a service package that includes meals, housekeeping, maintenance and activity programs, said Jim Biggs, vice president and director of operations management of Life Care Services.

Entrance fees could range from $100,000 to more than $300,000, though the figures are preliminary, Yates said.

The entrance fee includes a life care contract that guarantees the seniors a place in Westlake's assisted living or nursing facilities with care provided at a 33 percent discount, Biggs said.

"That saves them money down the road," Yates said. "People might live in this community for 20 years before they ever set foot in a care facility. But what's that health care going to cost them in 20 years? We know it's not going to go down."

Because the resident does not own the home or apartment, 75 percent of the entrance fee would be refunded to them when they leave it, Biggs said. A person paying $300,000 would receive $225,000, for example.

"Based on our experiences across the country, residents are at a point where they just want to simplify things," including not having to dispose of property, Biggs said.

"The main component is residents are able to enjoy life without worrying about the housekeeping and maintenance," he said. "They can enjoy the golfing and the fitness but at the same time enjoy the peace of mind that, in the event that they need quality health care, it's located right there.

"And that does have a direct appeal for the (financial) planners, not just the adults, but sometimes their children as well."

Commercial real estate broker J. Gaut of J. Gaut & Associates represented both the property seller, an Amarillo investment company, and A to Y in the land transaction.

Wiley Hicks Jr. Inc. will be general contractor for the site work and large buildings, and Plains Builders will be the contractor for the homes and other buildings, he said. The Amarillo and Albuquerque, N.M., offices of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini have been involved in the architectural planning.